Mud
by Doomer
Summary: This is a one-shot I wrote for a Daryl Dixon fanfic challenge. Daryl and the OC had to be on some sort of mission and it could only be two pages long. I have to wait until the end of April to see if I won. Tell me what you think!


"This is boring." I whispered, leaning into him for warmth from the cold, October wind that harshly whipped my hair around my face. I pulled the collar of my jacket around my face and grumbled to myself angrily. He didn't say anything, he just scanned the tree line across the field we had set up our hunting station.

Why did I agree to do this? Why did I think this would be a good idea? Why did I think that going deer hunting for the group was going to be fun? I glanced over at the man sitting next to me and remembered instantly. Daryl Dixon. I stared at his profile for a while, taking in handsomeness while I sat beside him, freezing my ass off. It was worth it though.

"Daryl, I'm bored." I groaned. He shifted in his seat next to me and sighed softly.

"Keep yer mouth shut." He whispered back, giving me a sideways glare as I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees, cradling my chin in the palm of my hand. He grabbed the pair of binoculars that hung around his neck and held it to his icy blue eyes, moving his head slowly from one edge of the tree line to the other.

I had no idea why he had asked me to come with him, other than the fact that Rick had told him to bring someone in case something happened to him while he was out here. I'm not sure why I was the one he chose. I had been sitting in my cell, braiding Beth's hair when he appeared in the doorway, crossbow slung over his shoulder and motioned for me to follow him.

"Why did you bring me out here if you're just gonna be mean to me?" I growled at him. He shook his head and let the binoculars fall back around his neck.

"'Cause yer the only one who can drive stick if ya needed ta get back wit' out me." He growled back, glaring at me while I shook my head, moving my eyes from him to the tree line. At the sign of any movement, I was to alert Daryl immediately, no matter what. We had been out here for what seemed like days, but really it had only been a couple hours. I wasn't used to this rugged lifestyle that I had been so suddenly thrown into. Mud, blood and weapons that I didn't know how to use. This wasn't me. I liked big soft pillows, warm baths and good food. Well, any food that didn't consist of… squirrels.

I sighed loudly and started mindlessly twirling my hair around my index finger, moving my eyes back and forth across that tree line, keeping a sharp eye out for any kind of movement. Back and forth, back and forth, back an- "Hey!" I exclaimed in a whisper, pushing my elbow against Daryl's ribs gently, "What is that?" I pointed towards the far right corner of the field, towards whatever had just stumbled out of the woodwork.

Daryl moved his binoculars in the direction I was pointing and chuckled to himself lightly before looking at me, sucking his teeth quietly. "Girl, s'just a walker, calm yer pretty ass down." I gawked at him and pointed again at the walker that was slowly making it's way across the field.

"Yes, a walker that is going to try and eat our faces!" I said with an exasperated tone.

"If ya don't shut up, I'm gonna feed ya t'him." He growled gently, the corners of his mouth turned up in the slightest of smirks but I wasn't enjoying his since of humor. I was scared of those things. He wasn't.

"Daryl." I whined, moving myself closer to him. The temperature had dropped dramatically since the summer time and I had started to shiver, despite the black leather jacket I had on, along with the gray hoodie underneath. "Just kill it." I pleaded, looking up at him with big, blue doe eyes.

He looked down at me and sighed as he grabbed his crossbow, which he had leaned against a tree trunk. "Damn girls." He whispered as he pulled the crossbow to his cheek, putting the walkers forehead in his crosshairs before releasing the trigger. I watched as the walker fell limply to the ground while Daryl took his seat next to me again, his warm body pressed tightly against mine.

"Thank you." I grinned up at him as he reloaded his crossbow and set it back against the tree trunk, wrinkling his nose as he looked down at me.

"Waste of an arrow, f'ya ask me." He grumbled, pulling his jacket tighter around his body.

"I'll walk out there an' get if fer ya if ya'd like." I teased playfully. Winking at him as he smiled down at me.

"G'on then, go an' get it." He gestured towards the fallen walker laying there in the middle of the field. I stared at him, unsure of what to do. "G'on!" He urged.

"Seriously?" I grumbled, cocking my head to the side. He nodded, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

"Yep. Ya offered, an' I'm takin' ya up on that offer. G'on an' get it."

"Sonofabitch." I hissed as I made my way out towards the tree line, my arms crossed across my chest tightly as I pulled my chin into my neck, trying to shield my face from the wind. I stomped angrily, pushing my black combat boots deep into a mud puddle, causing it to splash across the front of my jeans. "Rat bastard!" I nearly shouted, feeling the wetness soak through the denim almost immediately.

I finally reached the walker, putting the tip of my boot on the back of it's neck, I grabbed the arrow with both hands, pulling back. The arrow popped free with a loud, wet, gut wrenching 'squelch'. I gagged and whipped the arrow towards the ground, ridding it of zombie guts. I turned around and held the arrow in the air, waving it back and forth gently with a 'hope-you're-happy-I'm-really-mad-at-you' look on my face. I couldn't see him from where I was, but I knew he'd be watching me with his binoculars.

I started back towards our hunting set up, which consisted of nothing more than a fallen tree and a make shift blind Daryl had made out of some broken branches and leaves. The wind violently whipped my hair around my face and howled loudly in my ears. I stopped for a second, thinking I heard my name but after a few moments of screaming wind, I pushed forward. My boots kept getting sucked into the mud and I had to really work to pull them free and suddenly I heard my name being called.

I looked up to see Daryl running towards me, crossbow in hand, pointing towards the trees behind me. I turned to see a the largest group of walkers I had ever seen. There had to be nearly eighty of them and the closest one to me was almost 5 yards away. I whimpered as I tried to pull my boot free from the quicksand like mud. I could hear the violent gurgles and hissing of the walker behind me. I looked just in time to see the walker- arms outstretched, grab my shoulder roughly. I turned and slammed the arrow into his temple and watched as he fell to the ground.

The 'twang' of Daryl's crossbow releasing made me look up and I saw him run past me and pull the arrow out of it's skull as he reloaded and shot another walker a couple yards away from me. He looked over at me as I started untying my boots and pulled my feet free. I took off towards the hunting blind. "Daryl! Run!" I screamed over my shoulder, looking back to see him grab an arrow from another walkers skull and take off running, quickly closing in the distance between him and myself.

Just a couple more yards until I was in the safety of the trees. My legs and chest burned as I gasped for air, leaning against the trunk of a tree for support as I started to sob. The reality of what just happened hitting me like a ton of bricks square in the chest.

"Are ya cryin'?" He asked. I looked up and saw him wrinkle his nose as the tears streamed down my cheeks.

"I almost freaking died!" I sobbed, wiping my eyes with the back of my hands. "So get bent, asshole!" I hissed, wrapping my arms around my body as I sat down at the base of the tree, picking a sharp twig from the soul of my foot, wincing softly. "An' I lost my damn boots." I sniffled.

"I'll come back an' get'em t'morrow." He was now standing in front of me, his crossbow slung over his shoulder, both hands wrapped around the strap tightly. I looked up at him and realized how much bigger than me he really was with his broad, muscular shoulders. His body lean with muscle from years of hunting and working.

"I ain't ever killed on of those things before." I whispered. He knelt down in front of me, he was chewing on the inside of his bottom lip, staring at me with those big, blue eyes. They were different than they had been earlier. They were softer than I had ever seen them.

"I wasn't gon' let anythin' happen t'ya." He whispered. I pulled my chin into my chest and tried not to look at him. I pouted there like a child for a moment before I felt his rough, calloused fingers under my chin, pushing it up to look at him. "I mean it." He added before wrapping one arm around me awkwardly, pulling me close to him. I could feel his body stiffen as I wrapped an arm around his neck.

"'S'okay. I believe you." I whispered in his ear.


End file.
